DCRRC SUNDAY HILL WORKOUT REPORTS
Chain Bridge Hill May 28, 2006
The Martz family hosted this workout and Robin & Dave took turns pushing little Catherine up this tough hill. Gatorade and ice was available between repeats and Gatorade coupons and homemade banana-chocolate chip bread was given away as prizes! Assisting a group fix a flat tire in the parking lot was just one of the exciting happenings during this hill workout!
Mass Ave April 30, 2006
Ashley, Kevin and host, Janet Braunstein showed up for the hill workout on this sparkling spring day. They opted for a casual workout with a lot of chit-chat since Kevin was recovering from Boston (which he did in under three hours, I might add) and all three of them ran 13 hilly miles the previous day. Fortunately, Janet's first choices of Tilden Street/Pierce Mill and Calvert for a hill workout were already taken, so she opted for this fairly gentle section of Mass. Ave. After six repeats, there was a little less chit-chat, but then it was quitting time.
Highland Avenue April 9, 2006
The DCRRC 10K Training Group hosted a supplementary Hill Workout on Sunday, April 9, 2006, at 8 am on Highland Avenue in Falls Church that was open to all club members. At least two club members who weren't students in the TKG participated. The early morning was unusually frigid for a spring day, but by midway through the workout, the morning had warmed enough to be able to shed gloves and ear muffs. To enliven the workout, at one point the group ran to the West Falls Church Metro parking garage a quarter mile away and ran 0.6 miles to the top of its six levels. After running back to the hill, the group next ran up the further block over (N. Oak Street), which is a slightly less-steep part of the same hill. Included in the workout were energy-sapping "boomerangs", a grueling run up the steepest part of Highland Ave. to the top (0.1 mile), a right turn down the even steeper Mt. Daniel Drive to the bottom (0.1 mile) and back again. These repeats are short, sharp and not sweet. After 61 minutes, the group retired to a nearby Starbuck's for recovery.
Rock Creek and Cathedral Hill March 26, 2006
Host Heather Schloss was greeted by 6 cheerful runners outside of Open City Diner in Woodley Park for yet another DCRRC hill workout. Although the people eating inside the diner saw us as crazy, I saw these runners as incredibly dedicated, and even more so because their host (me) was injured and unable to pave the way today. It was a tough hill (or hills, I should say) but this group was strong and ran the mile loop about 3 to 5 times. It seemed that everyone enjoyed the hilly mile loop that started in Rock Creek Park and looped through Woodley Park and down Cathedral Avenue back to the bottom of the hill in Rock Creek. We had great representation from the 10K program! The workout was topped off with brunch at Open City where I waited with post-workout Gatorade and water. We now have proof that it's not just Whitlow's that has problems with runner patrons. Even with a few setbacks at the diner, it all worked out and we were able to catch up over some hot coffee and breakfast. Thanks to all the runners who chose to run instead of sleep this Sunday morning and a big thanks to Judy (Wolfe) for helping to create this course- it really worked out well! See you all at the next one on April 30!
Columbia RRCA Club Challenge February 26, 2006
Host Robin Martz was home very sick and with a sick baby, but heard the DC roadrunners ran well despite the tough and hilly course.
Normanstone Drive/Fulton Street 1/29/06 - Hosts Rob & Judy Wolfe
Photos! 1/29/2006
Six runners, a cuddly-looking sleeping rider, a photographer, and the Secret Service turned out for the January 29 hill workout in Northwest Washington . The runners warmed up through Cleveland Park and ran the 1200 meter Normanstone drive hill three times. On the third time, Mark Kline (DCRRC newsletter photographer) was stopped, searched and questioned by the Secret Service. Apparently, taking pictures for a running newsletter looked suspicious so close to all the embassies and diplomatic residences. As a light rain began, the runners cooled down and then warmed-up with lattes at nearby Starbucks.
No hill workout today due to Christmas 12/25/05
Masonic temple 12/11/05-
Host Sarah Haut and one other brave runner did 6 hill repeats admiring the view of Alexandria from the Masonic Temple. Sarah reports the hill workout was good and attributes the low attendance to the time of year and the DC Road Runners Bread Run 10K scheduled for the same day. Afterwards, they sipped gatorade and then had a cup of coffee.
No hill workout today due to Thanksgiving 11/27/05
Highland Avenue 11/13/05-
This workout was hosted by Peter Lamberton. Early on a crisp autumn Sunday, five DCRRC runners met atop Highland Avenue in Falls Church. After a brief downhill warmup run, they ran half a mile up and over Highland each way between West Street to the east and Haycock Road to the west. High piles of raked leaves lined the curb on both sides of the roadway as the runners labored up one side of the hill to the top and then plunged down the other side. The hill rose 0.1 mile running into the sun and 0.4 mile running away from the sun. Upon reachiing the bottom of any traverse, the runners turned around and did it again. There appeared to be no consensus as to whether it was less demanding to run up the short steep side or the longer more gradual side, which had a significant promontory the last 100 yards before the the crest. Nobody was counting the trips but after 50 minutes of hillwork, the members of the group retired to a nearby Starbucks where they relaxed for 50 minutes before the day's duties called them here, there or yonder. And congratulations!
No hill workout today due to MCM 10/30/05
Pierce Mill Hill 10/16/05
At the appointed time of 10 am on Sunday, 10/16/05, a Hill Workout group of one showed up to ascend Pierce Mill Hill six times in the ensuing hour. (Unfortunately, there was another person there, but they did not connect!) The day was pleasantly cool for running, about 58 degrees, with only a trace of humidity. However, soon a prodigious sweat was worked up by running up and down this nasty hill. The incline starts off next to the Pierce Mill and angles steeply up Tilden Street for a couple of hundred yards, with only the divided roadway to run on. After going past the historically interesting Spring House structure, set in a depression between the roadways, the hill bores off to the left and levels off ever so slightly as a sidewalk is gained. The hill then bores back to the right and the incline gets more moderate yet, finally bearing to the left one last time where the top of the hill can be seen at 29th Street NW. Upon achieving this crest after .38 mile of running uphill, Connecticut Avenue can be seen .15 mile away, due west across level ground. During the hour, several joggers were seen descending into Rock Creek Park by running down Tilden Street from the high ground above; however, except for one other intrepid runner spotted laboring uphill, only walkers were seen ascending Tilden Street from Rock Creek Park below where, judging by their running outfits, the walkers had been joggers mere moments before. Bicyclists going uphill were in low gear, standing on their pedals as they worked the ascent. I recorded my last burning trip up the hill at about 3:50, a 10:05 mile pace. Coming down the hill was obviously quicker, taking about 3 minutes, a 7:53 pace. The grade, especially near the bottom, is daunting on the uphill but it is intimidating on the downhill. This is one exhausting hill to work out on.
No hill workout today due to Army ten-miler 10/2/05
National Zoo 9/18/05
I checked the DCRRC website to check that I had the time right for hosting the hill run at the zoo. I didn’t. I had in mind that I had to be there for an 8:00 a.m. start and the website said 9:00 a.m. Why? Had Robin made a mistake? The intro para explained: 8:00 summer and 9:00 fall. I’m a Brit and I’ve only just learned that anything after Labor Day is fall. O.K. Caribou Coffee on 18th made a good stop off point between my house and the Zoo (the hill training site). The newly found extra hour gave me the time to read a bit of the paper and drink a cup of coffee.
At the designated meeting point there was a man with a clipboard directing cars up the Zoo hill – Olmsted Walk - that’s normally closed to traffic. I hadn’t bargained on it being Fiesta Musical day. “FONZ and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo celebrate Hispanic Heritage month … “ Hmm would running be an obstacle race rather than the clear run I’d thought it would be when I tested out the route one morning at 8:00 a.m. on a normal Sunday? How would the Fiesta goers and the hosts of club runners I envisioned turning up get on together – I imagined a new kind of South American Runners Salsa Dance.
9:00 a.m. lots of people in sight but no runners. I mused on the amount of Gatorade for just me to drink. Maybe I could I offer it to Fiesta participants, or the kids coming to the “Snores and Roars”? (Is this when a child wakes up Dad and gets an earful?)
9:10 a.m. Will I be disciplined to run the 0.72 mile hill by myself twice (Ed’s instructions) without the support of other DC Road Runners?
9:15 a.m. No fellow runners. I set off by myself determining to do the run once. A quarter of the way up I meet Peter Lamberton (fellow 10 miler trainee) coming down the hill. He turns round and we complete the hill first time round. Peter has done two other hill trainings and says the turnout is variable. (I had been wondering whether people had come at 8:00 but the clipboard man said he hadn’t seen any runners looking as if they were waiting to do hill training!)
6 mins 43 secs later Peter persuaded me to run the hill a second time. So that was good. As we ran we talked about runner things – shoes, Fleet Feet, marathon times, Garmin Forerunner merits … We also pointed out to each other the giraffes, zebra, and the “Truly Wild Przewalski's horses (Equus caballus przewalskii)”. We read the notice (stopping on the downhill, not the uphill). It turns out that the horse is extinct in the wild – so maybe the headline is a bit misleading?
I don’t know if we missed other DC Road Runners but I hope not. Perhaps they were there but in their Fiesta costumes? Anyway ‘a good time was had by all’ – at least that’s what I think. Hey, Peter do you agree?
Army-Navy Drive 9/4/05
Bob Platt hosted the Sept. 4 hill workout which consisted of four repeats of a loop up 23rd Street from Army Navy Dr. to Arlington Ridge Rd. There was a downhill on 22nd Street. The group had Gatorade at the historic point where DCRRC's Saturday Long Runs used to start in the 1990s, before moving to Iwo Jima.
Mormon Temple Hill 8/21/05
Susan and Jim Hage hosted this workout on a 400 meter climb past the Mormon Temple. After Jim led a brief warmup which included running up the hill so we could all see what we were getting into, the group of about a dozen runners attacked the climb four or five times each. The climb itself was fairly steep and steady through a shaded portion, then really steep for a short bit at the approach to the Temple, then it leveled off, deceptively so, because another short sharp incline awaited before there was a very slight downhill where there was a stop sign which Jim designated as the turnaround point. While we all ran up and down the hill, Jim ran a half mile back to the cars to get the Gatorade. Jim then ran up and down the hill passing all but the leaders several times over anyway. It was a noteworthy hill, apparently the first steep part of a long venerable DCRRC race from many years ago (not to give away the average age of the group or anything), which elicited many nostalgic comments about races gone by. After the workout and a short cool down, we retired to a nearby Starbucks to enjoy an hour of cold refreshments and animated conversation.
Rosehaven at Euclid Hill 8/7/05
Tenley Ludewig hosted this hill workout in Vienna. After a 15 minute warm-up the runners decided to run up Rosehaven and do run over to the next street and do a loop for recovery rather than run back down the hill. The hill was a great choice by Tenley as it was shaded and there were next to no cars. It was a slow climb in the beginning but the end was quite steep. Thanks Tenley!
Potterton at Beachway 7/24/05
Roger Hoskin kindly hosted this hill workout. The runners did a short warm up while Roger and his wife waited at the starting intersection for other runners to arrive. Due to injury, he decided he would ride his bike in the opposite direction as the runners rather than risk further injury during the hill workout. The runners ran 6 loops of .6 miles each and it was great to see Roger on every lap so as to give and get encouragement during the workout. Sarah Haut dazzled the group with her baking expertise by sharing zucchini bread and homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. The cookies had to nearly be confiscated from Robin’s sweaty hands who later exclaimed the “baby made me eat them”. Conversation ranged from natural childbirth and heart disease to adoption in Russia and synthetic synovial fluid from a chicken head! This is one diverse and interesting group!
Powahatan Hill 7/10/05
A small but energetic group this morning tackled the hill in the East Falls Church area hosted by Howell Posner. Discussion after the 6-8+ repeats was as diverse as the interest in attempting a first triathlon (Howell kindly offered his swim lesson services as a 20 year + masters swimmer and former collegiate swimmer) to the art/science behind banana bread baking (chocolate chips or not? muffins or loaf pan?) These are serious discussions on Sunday mornings for serious athletes! Dave Martz, husband of coordinator and fellow DCRR, drove the slushy Gatorade to the hill for runners so Robin could get her long run in for the week…and then he proceeded to run the 10+ miles home! We cannot have a hill workout without the slushy Gatorade!!!
Vienna hill 6/26/05
Our first hill workout outside the beltway was a great success due in large part to our extremely well organized host Janet Townshend. Not only was the “cue sheet” full of details to help runners find their way there, but once at the foot of the hill, we found signs posted and chalk marks up the hill/s indicating our distance! The workout consisted of a figure 8 pattern which gave the group ample time to come down/recover from the up hills. We had some newcomers to the Sunday workout and everyone enjoyed slushy Gatorade afterwards, a hill workout staple.
West Mt.Ida 6/12/05
The hill was a bit longer than those previous two, but that didn’t stop the group, many of whom are fast on their way to becoming “regulars”, from tackling this hill between 6 to 10 times! Way to go runners! Thanks to host, Sarah Haut, for introducing this great hill that is tucked away in the Del Ray neighborhood of Alexandria. The rainbow array of Gatorade flavors excited the hot runners and was enjoyed by all.
Capitol Hill 5/29/05
Despite road closures downtown anticipating the Rolling Thunder motorcycles parade, a handful of dedicated runners attended the second ever hill workout hosted by Ed Grant. The group took a wonderful easy jog around the mall on this absolutely perfect sunny but cool day. The group did between 6 and 10 repeats of this famous hill. Slushy Gatorade was available in 4 scrumptious flavors.
Fort Scott 5/15/05
The first ever DCRRC hill workout was hosted by Robin Martz and was the Fort Scott hill near Crystal City. The workout was well attended by runners new to the club as well as some regulars. Runners did anywhere from 2 to 6 hill repeats and enjoyed some “slushy” Gatorade afterwards while they stretched and chatted. It was a gorgeous morning to get in a great workout and to meet some fellow runners.
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